EDS
202

Seminar
in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities - was developed in response to
a substantial expression of student interest in additional coursework
in neurodevelopmental disabilities. Student feedback on this new
course was overwhelmingly positive. We will again offer this elective
course in spring 2005. Please check the online schedule for the most
current schedule information. You may also want to consult with your
Level I, Level II, or Graduate Degree advisor to determine if this
class may be appropriate as an elective course in your program of
study.

In
spring 2005 EDS 202 will be held on Monday afternoons at 4:00 PM.
The first class meeting is on campus at CSUS - Yosemite Hall 141.
Continuing graduate students may register for this course during
the regular CASPER process. Enrollment in this course is also available
through the College of Continuing Education. For further information
about enrollment for this unique course through Continuing Education,
please contact Nicole Baptista at 278-6007 or by email at baptistn@csus.edu.

In
spring 2004 we offered EDS 202, Seminar in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities,
at Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California. As a graduate
elective course, this unique class offers an extraordinary set of
learning
opportunities for students working on Level II credential requirements.
This course is also open as an elective course for graduate students
in special education, rehabilitation, school psychology, nursing,
speech/language pathology, psychology, & other allied health fields.

Summer
Travels - 2004

After
a long semester with a very heavy teaching load, this
past summer was filled with travel to wonderful and exotic Asian
destinations. In early July, I attended the Rain Forest World Music
Festival in Kuching, Malaysian Borneo. Following the music festival
I joined several friends for an extraordinary journey to an Iban
longhouse, Rumah Garie, deep in the jungle interior. This settlement
is pretty rural - the last visitors to the longhouse stopped by
last November! We stayed for several days and had a wonderful time
visiting with the Ibans living in this 31 door longhouse.

In
late July,
I was keynote
speaker at a
national special education conference
in
Kuala
Lumpur,
Malaysia.
This was an exciting conference and provided me with new insights
on how families experience the role of parenting children with disabilities
in a developing nation.

In
August, I started teaching a course in
early intervention at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences
in Bangalore, India. The students are a wonderfully talented group
of occupational therapists, physical therapists, and a speech language
pathologist. The class in India will continue through the fall semester
via
distance learning, utilizing WebCT and video technology.

EDS
216

The
ongoing support of the
administrative
leaders at Shriners (Ms. Margaret Bryan & Mr. John Boyd) also provides
an opportunity for students to hear from some of the many talented
and
dedicated
Shriners Hospital personnel as a part of EDS 216, a required course
in the special education credential programs.

Every
fall and spring semester, students in EDS 216 A/B visit
Shriners to learn about clinical and rehabilitative services from key
medical, clinical, and administrative personnel at the hospital.
Student feedback has been very positive and we look forward to a continuing partnership between our department
and Shriners Hospital. For more information about Shriners
Hospital for Children of Northern California, visit their website.

Cuba

Several
CSUS faculty members from special education visited special
education programs in Havana, Cuba in October, 2003. Paula Gardner,
Rachael Gonzales, and I had the privilege
of visiting a new program for children with autism spectrum disorders
and several community-based programs in Havana and Regla.

We
also had the opportunity to visit the museum honoring the Cuban Literacy
Campaign,
the Museum of the Revolution, the new Cuban National Museum of Art,
and
the Hemingway
Museum. The energy of the Cuban people is extraordinary and we all
felt warmly welcomed into many elements of life in Cuba.

Malaysia
in January 2004

During
the break between semesters, I had the opportunity to return to Malaysia.
My colleague and good friend, Zulkifli, arranged for housing and
office space for me at Universiti Malaya so I had a home-base while
in the country. Christmas Day was a blur of activities with Sandiayo
Sebestian and family (Clara, Jason, & Nicole)...we visited family
all over the Kuala Lumpur area - it was great to see so many family
members again. We also took a drive down to Melaka and wandered
through Jonker Street and surrounding streets. News Year Eve was
spent with friends Ramsay Ong and James Ng in KL and then it was
time for a week in Kuching, Malaysian Borneo.

There
were many wonderful and exciting events during my weeks
in Malaysia. One of the most unique functions was the opening of
an exhibition of paintings by a very talented new painter, Leow Aik
Boon. The opening was hosted by Ramsay Ong held at Artrageously Ramsay
Ong, The Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. Boon donated 25 pieces of his
work as a benefit to support
the Malaysian
AIDS Foundation and Datin Paduka Marina Mahitir, Chairman of the
Foundation, was the guest of honor. Over two hundred people were
in attendance and a
majority
of the
pieces sold before the end of the opening event. It was a most exciting
event for me - I was honored with the role of emcee for the event.

Shriners
Hospital for Children of Northern CaliforniaA
CSUS/Shriners collaborative project to enhance the curriculum in special
education as an avenue to inform teachers-in-training about neurodevelopmental
disabilities.

School
Inclusion ProjectA CSUS/UC DavisCollaborative
Project to enhance the full inclusion of young children with autism
in regular education classrooms in local schools.

Professional Affiliations

Past
President, Division for Physical & Health Disabilities, Council
for Exceptional Children